You must have peace in order to stay in God's righteousness and you must have God's righteousness to reap the results of peace.
The kind of peace I'm talking about involves a sense of security in the midst of turmoil. Rest in the middle of the storm.
It is a little like the feeling of security that comes with knowing that all your insurance premiums are paid up and you are fully covered. When a "fender bender" comes along you don't panic or lose your composure. You have peace because you know you're backed up by insurance.
Jesus has given you an insurance policy. It's the most comprehensive coverage you could ever imagine. And Jesus has paid all the premiums in full.
That policy is known as "the covenant of peace" and it is found in Isaiah chapter 54, verses 7-17. Let's take a look at this marvelous insurance policy one benefit at a time: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer" (vv. 7-8).
God's desire is to gather you with "great mercies" and to show you His "everlasting kindness."
When these verses talk about God's "wrath" and His hiding His face, it refers to God's pouring out the punishment for sin on Jesus on the cross. There Jesus cried, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me." Because of what Jesus endured on the cross, God is free to have mercy on us and show us kindness.
"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee" (v. 9).
Just as God promised Noah to never again destroy the earth by water, so He has promised to not be angry with those who appropriate Jesus' death on the cross to their lives.
"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee" (v. 10).
All these promises and those that follow are part of this "covenant of peace."
A covenant is a solemn oath or contract between two parties. In this wonderful agreement, God graciously vows to be your ever-present back up.
He says, "Step back and relax, little covenant partner. Let your big covenant partner come in and take care of you. You don't ever, ever have to worry about anything."
"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones" (v. 11-12).
Storms are a part of life. There's no getting around it. Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you're never going to have any trouble.
Your covenant of peace, however, guarantees that in the midst of those storms you'll not only be anchored and established - you'll be crowned with jewels as well.
"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (v.13).
The covenant of peace covers not only you but extends to your children as well. Your whole family is covered by this insurance policy.
If you have children who seem to be straying from the ways of the Lord, pull out your covenant of peace and show the devil your insurance policy.
Say, "Take your hands off my children, mister. This says that they all shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be their peace."
"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake" (vv. 14-15).
You will be established in what? "Righteousness." God's righteousness will establish you in such a way that fear, terror, and oppression have no right to come near you.
When enemies accuse you falsely and try to destroy you, you can rest in your covenant of peace. You don't have to prove your "rightness." God's righteousness will establish you and cause those who gather together against you to fall.
"Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn" (vv. 16-17).
This is a powerful covenant! No weapon...No weapon formed against you can prosper or succeed.
Consider all the weapons aimed at your family right now. There are weapons of violence, weapons of disease, weapons of lack, strife and fear. Yet when you stand on your rights granted through your covenant of peace, none of them can succeed against you.
Notice God didn't say that no weapons would be formed. Just that those that are formed could not prosper.
This covenant even extends to deal with those who would dare to speak against you unjustly. "Every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn."
When someone speaks evil of you, you don't have to go running around trying to defend yourself. Just rest in your covenant of peace.
"This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord" (v.17).
All the benefits just mentioned are the rightful heritage or inheritance of the servants of the Lord because "their righteousness is of me, says the Lord."
Submitting to and operating in God's righteousness rather than your own rightness makes these promises a reality in your life.
Excerpt permission granted by World Changers Ministries